What's the deal with entitled, jerky dog owners*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*Not all dog owners, I'm just talking about the bad ones.

But seriously, why is this such a problem? People who don't train their dogs, who don't properly dispose of their poop or let them pee everywhere. People who absolutely refuse to leash dogs even in crowded public spaces. People who get large, energetic dogs and then keep them in small apartments all day and act bewildered when their dogs are aggressive or hard to train. People who let their dogs run up to people (even children!) either off leash or on long lead lines, let them jump on people with minimal apology or none at all. People who take dogs places where they are not allowed, who insist on taking them into restaurants, grocery stores, even movie theaters! People who take their dogs to dog parks and then ignore their anti-social, sometimes dangerous behavior while staring at their phones or talking to other people. People who treat playgrounds and regular parks as dog parks, letting dogs off leash and letting them play in places where people would normally picnic or let children play.

So many of the absolutely awful dog owners I encounter in DC are otherwise functional adults. Gainfully employed, with plenty of resources (to afford doggie daycare, trainers, dog walkers, or simply moving to a place with a yard where their dog might not require so much of this). Yes, I also sometimes encounter dog owners who might be uneducated or simply not know better. But most of the awful dog owners I encounter absolutely *should* know better, they simply choose not to. It reveals something horrible about their character, I think. The same way watching someone parent terribly reveals something horrible about a person. A fundamental lack of regard for anyone's comfort or well-being but their own.

It is selfish. It's rude to other people, it's rude to other dogs, and in many cases, it is unkind to their own dogs who are not getting the things they need to be well-adjusted and socialized.

Anyway, why are there so many dog owners like this and why does it seem like the problem is getting worse? Did Covid make it worse? Can we do anything to improve the situation? I even think back to the six months I lived in Paris (where dog culture is very strong and people take their dogs everywhere and let them go to the bathroom everywhere), and it wasn't as bad as it is in DC right now, especially in terms of dogs who are just clearly poorly trained being in all kinds of spaces where they probably should not be (and in many cases are explicitly banned). I encountered some obsessive and sometimes rude dog people in Paris, but I can't remember ever having a dog come and jump up on me, or going to a park and having it so overtaken by dogs that it was not really functional for others, but these things happen to me all the time in DC these days. I also don't remember dogs generally being as aggressive in Paris as they are here. Tiny lap dogs were super common there and many of the dogs you'd encounter in cafes and stores would be these little toy dogs that fit in purses and were so quiet and well behaved you'd never know they were there unless you were looking. Even the big dogs tended to be much more docile. I hardly ever even remember seeing dogs pulling on leashes, and I don't even remember hearing dogs barking very much even though I lived in a small building that must have had a dozen dogs in it. Do Parisian dog owners just do a better job of training their dogs? Are the breeds more popular in Paris just less likely to cause these issues? I don't get it but it's not just a problem of there being a lot of dogs because a lot of cities have a lot of dogs and don't have this problem with horrible dog owners everywhere (I also lived in Denver for a year during graduate school -- also a strong dog culture, but people have more space and seem to prioritize sociability in dogs more so than they do here.

What gives?

Signed,
Fed up With Feckless Fido-owners

I did not read your maifest destiny..way too long and wordy. But I did notice the one about pee. I would like you to try and stop dogs from peeing..it can not be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A LEASHED dog recently growled and lunged at me walking on the sidewalk. The owner ignored me like I was invisible while they TALKED to the dog. Just because it is on a leash doesn’t mean the owner is in control of the animal.

You want the dog owner to stop and chat with you while their dog is barking and lunging at you? No you move away and let the owner talk to the dog. M and if the dog is on a leash it is by definition under control. Sometimes dogs are afraid and they try to lunge and bark to keep the scary thing away. It doea not mean the owner isn't trying

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was also on a trail recently and noticed where dog owners had cleaned up after their animals and left the plastic bag full of feces on a log or somewhere near the trail. What possesses them to this? I mean thanks for picking up the dog turds I guess and preserving them in plastic for eternity in the woods. I hate you.

Maybe they were going to pick it up on the way out of the trail? I have done this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was also on a trail recently and noticed where dog owners had cleaned up after their animals and left the plastic bag full of feces on a log or somewhere near the trail. What possesses them to this? I mean thanks for picking up the dog turds I guess and preserving them in plastic for eternity in the woods. I hate you.

Maybe they were going to pick it up on the way out of the trail? I have done this.

You’re a douche

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A LEASHED dog recently growled and lunged at me walking on the sidewalk. The owner ignored me like I was invisible while they TALKED to the dog. Just because it is on a leash doesn’t mean the owner is in control of the animal.

You want the dog owner to stop and chat with you while their dog is barking and lunging at you? No you move away and let the owner talk to the dog. M and if the dog is on a leash it is by definition under control. Sometimes dogs are afraid and they try to lunge and bark to keep the scary thing away. It doea not mean the owner isn't trying

Yes I think you should acknowledge the HUMAN BEING being threatened. No, leashed dogs are not inherently under control of the owner of the owner is a moron.

[Anonymous]

Wow. The fact that you took time to craft this lengthy post is alarming. I gave up after the first paragraph. So yeah, some dog owners are inconsiderate - nothing new to report there. It doesn't really matter that this is about dog owners - jerky people are that way in general, and I run into many of them every day... driving, shopping, at work....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you own a dog, OP?

No, I am smart enough to know I don't have the time or energy for a dog at this stage in my life. I might get a dog when I retire and have time walk it frequently and can devote hours of my life to training. I like dogs (and pets in general, I have a cat right now) and it is my love of animals that makes me thoughtful about whether or not I take on the responsibility of owning one.

This seems to be an increasingly rare position.

Okay, but then how and why are you spending so much time in dog parks that you can confidently opine about all the "People who take their dogs to dog parks and then ignore their anti-social, sometimes dangerous behavior while staring at their phones or talking to other people?" Before I had a dog I spent exactly zero time at dog parks, so I'm curious how people's behavior at dog parks is such a huge imposition to your life.

Because I have friends who are responsible dog owners and talk about how they can't take their dogs to dog parks because of all the terrible dog owners there. I have a neighbor who fosters dogs and used to be a dog trainer and she has told me that dog parks are increasingly useless as a place to socialize her fosters because they are often some of the best behaved dogs there. So that's how I can "confidently opine."

Why would you defend this behavior? It's a problem for everyone, not just people without dogs. All of my friends with dogs talk about how difficult the bad dog owners make it for them to walk their dogs or take them places where dogs are allowed of leash, because so many dogs are not socialized and their owners can't be trusted. Look at all the dog owners in this thread talking about how these dog owners negatively impact both them and their dog.

There's no excuse for any of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. The fact that you took time to craft this lengthy post is alarming. I gave up after the first paragraph. So yeah, some dog owners are inconsiderate - nothing new to report there. It doesn't really matter that this is about dog owners - jerky people are that way in general, and I run into many of them every day... driving, shopping, at work....

Read it or don't read it, it doesn't make people who do this stuff any better. I'd rather live next to 100 people writing lengthy screeds about bad dog owners on the internet than a single bad dog owner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you own a dog, OP?

No, I am smart enough to know I don't have the time or energy for a dog at this stage in my life. I might get a dog when I retire and have time walk it frequently and can devote hours of my life to training. I like dogs (and pets in general, I have a cat right now) and it is my love of animals that makes me thoughtful about whether or not I take on the responsibility of owning one.

This seems to be an increasingly rare position.

Okay, but then how and why are you spending so much time in dog parks that you can confidently opine about all the "People who take their dogs to dog parks and then ignore their anti-social, sometimes dangerous behavior while staring at their phones or talking to other people?" Before I had a dog I spent exactly zero time at dog parks, so I'm curious how people's behavior at dog parks is such a huge imposition to your life.

Because I have friends who are responsible dog owners and talk about how they can't take their dogs to dog parks because of all the terrible dog owners there. I have a neighbor who fosters dogs and used to be a dog trainer and she has told me that dog parks are increasingly useless as a place to socialize her fosters because they are often some of the best behaved dogs there. So that's how I can "confidently opine."

Why would you defend this behavior? It's a problem for everyone, not just people without dogs. All of my friends with dogs talk about how difficult the bad dog owners make it for them to walk their dogs or take them places where dogs are allowed of leash, because so many dogs are not socialized and their owners can't be trusted. Look at all the dog owners in this thread talking about how these dog owners negatively impact both them and their dog.

There's no excuse for any of it.

I’m not defending it but I fail to see how this really affects you in a substantive way. I live in a neighborhood overrun with ill-behaved children, but I just ignore them. I don’t write screeds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. The fact that you took time to craft this lengthy post is alarming. I gave up after the first paragraph. So yeah, some dog owners are inconsiderate - nothing new to report there. It doesn't really matter that this is about dog owners - jerky people are that way in general, and I run into many of them every day... driving, shopping, at work....

Read it or don't read it, it doesn't make people who do this stuff any better. I'd rather live next to 100 people writing lengthy screeds about bad dog owners on the internet than a single bad dog owner.

Why don’t you confront these bad dog owners then? That will be more effective than spending your time here moaning about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you own a dog, OP?

No, I am smart enough to know I don't have the time or energy for a dog at this stage in my life. I might get a dog when I retire and have time walk it frequently and can devote hours of my life to training. I like dogs (and pets in general, I have a cat right now) and it is my love of animals that makes me thoughtful about whether or not I take on the responsibility of owning one.

This seems to be an increasingly rare position.

Okay, but then how and why are you spending so much time in dog parks that you can confidently opine about all the "People who take their dogs to dog parks and then ignore their anti-social, sometimes dangerous behavior while staring at their phones or talking to other people?" Before I had a dog I spent exactly zero time at dog parks, so I'm curious how people's behavior at dog parks is such a huge imposition to your life.

Because I have friends who are responsible dog owners and talk about how they can't take their dogs to dog parks because of all the terrible dog owners there. I have a neighbor who fosters dogs and used to be a dog trainer and she has told me that dog parks are increasingly useless as a place to socialize her fosters because they are often some of the best behaved dogs there. So that's how I can "confidently opine."

Why would you defend this behavior? It's a problem for everyone, not just people without dogs. All of my friends with dogs talk about how difficult the bad dog owners make it for them to walk their dogs or take them places where dogs are allowed of leash, because so many dogs are not socialized and their owners can't be trusted. Look at all the dog owners in this thread talking about how these dog owners negatively impact both them and their dog.

There's no excuse for any of it.

I’m not defending it but I fail to see how this really affects you in a substantive way. I live in a neighborhood overrun with ill-behaved children, but I just ignore them. I don’t write screeds.

You’re in the wrong place to be complaining about people’s screeds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. The fact that you took time to craft this lengthy post is alarming. I gave up after the first paragraph. So yeah, some dog owners are inconsiderate - nothing new to report there. It doesn't really matter that this is about dog owners - jerky people are that way in general, and I run into many of them every day... driving, shopping, at work....

Read it or don't read it, it doesn't make people who do this stuff any better. I'd rather live next to 100 people writing lengthy screeds about bad dog owners on the internet than a single bad dog owner.

Why don’t you confront these bad dog owners then? That will be more effective than spending your time here moaning about it.

Because they will "accidentally" let their dog injure me.

Bad dog owners are bad people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was also on a trail recently and noticed where dog owners had cleaned up after their animals and left the plastic bag full of feces on a log or somewhere near the trail. What possesses them to this? I mean thanks for picking up the dog turds I guess and preserving them in plastic for eternity in the woods. I hate you.

People often clean up after their dog, leave the bag on the trail, and then pick it up when returning home (rather than carry a bag of poop a couple miles). I've got no issue with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A LEASHED dog recently growled and lunged at me walking on the sidewalk. The owner ignored me like I was invisible while they TALKED to the dog. Just because it is on a leash doesn’t mean the owner is in control of the animal.

First, it sounds like this particular dog was under control. Second, what do to think the owner should have done?

DP but a dog who is lunging at people who walk by on the sidewalk is not under control. I mean, better for that dog to be on a leash than not, but dogs who consistently pull at leashes and respond to bystanders by lunging, growling, or barking are not properly socialized.

And in a civilized society, if your dog lunges at and growls at someone, you should at least acknowledge that person and mumble an apology or something. It's fine to attend to your dog, but your dog is threatening a person. Imagine if a large child behaved in this way, lunging at or growling at a stranger on the street, and their parent just ignored that persona and just chatted with their kid like it had not happened. Would you feel reassured? Safe?

Pretend we live in a society and our well-being is interconnected and we all owe each other a basic duty of care.

So you advocate while the dog is being trained, it . . . not go on walks?

It sounds like the owner had control of the dog, and after it lunged at the PP, he or she attended to the dog (in other words, spoke to it). If you're really getting twisted up about this, you are just looking to be mad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:*Not all dog owners, I'm just talking about the bad ones.

But seriously, why is this such a problem? People who don't train their dogs, who don't properly dispose of their poop or let them pee everywhere. People who absolutely refuse to leash dogs even in crowded public spaces. People who get large, energetic dogs and then keep them in small apartments all day and act bewildered when their dogs are aggressive or hard to train. People who let their dogs run up to people (even children!) either off leash or on long lead lines, let them jump on people with minimal apology or none at all. People who take dogs places where they are not allowed, who insist on taking them into restaurants, grocery stores, even movie theaters! People who take their dogs to dog parks and then ignore their anti-social, sometimes dangerous behavior while staring at their phones or talking to other people. People who treat playgrounds and regular parks as dog parks, letting dogs off leash and letting them play in places where people would normally picnic or let children play.

So many of the absolutely awful dog owners I encounter in DC are otherwise functional adults. Gainfully employed, with plenty of resources (to afford doggie daycare, trainers, dog walkers, or simply moving to a place with a yard where their dog might not require so much of this). Yes, I also sometimes encounter dog owners who might be uneducated or simply not know better. But most of the awful dog owners I encounter absolutely *should* know better, they simply choose not to. It reveals something horrible about their character, I think. The same way watching someone parent terribly reveals something horrible about a person. A fundamental lack of regard for anyone's comfort or well-being but their own.

It is selfish. It's rude to other people, it's rude to other dogs, and in many cases, it is unkind to their own dogs who are not getting the things they need to be well-adjusted and socialized.

Anyway, why are there so many dog owners like this and why does it seem like the problem is getting worse? Did Covid make it worse? Can we do anything to improve the situation? I even think back to the six months I lived in Paris (where dog culture is very strong and people take their dogs everywhere and let them go to the bathroom everywhere), and it wasn't as bad as it is in DC right now, especially in terms of dogs who are just clearly poorly trained being in all kinds of spaces where they probably should not be (and in many cases are explicitly banned). I encountered some obsessive and sometimes rude dog people in Paris, but I can't remember ever having a dog come and jump up on me, or going to a park and having it so overtaken by dogs that it was not really functional for others, but these things happen to me all the time in DC these days. I also don't remember dogs generally being as aggressive in Paris as they are here. Tiny lap dogs were super common there and many of the dogs you'd encounter in cafes and stores would be these little toy dogs that fit in purses and were so quiet and well behaved you'd never know they were there unless you were looking. Even the big dogs tended to be much more docile. I hardly ever even remember seeing dogs pulling on leashes, and I don't even remember hearing dogs barking very much even though I lived in a small building that must have had a dozen dogs in it. Do Parisian dog owners just do a better job of training their dogs? Are the breeds more popular in Paris just less likely to cause these issues? I don't get it but it's not just a problem of there being a lot of dogs because a lot of cities have a lot of dogs and don't have this problem with horrible dog owners everywhere (I also lived in Denver for a year during graduate school -- also a strong dog culture, but people have more space and seem to prioritize sociability in dogs more so than they do here.

What gives?

Signed,
Fed up With Feckless Fido-owners

I did not read your maifest destiny..way too long and wordy. But I did notice the one about pee. I would like you to try and stop dogs from peeing..it can not be done.

And yet you *quoted* it in its entirety.